Page 66 - Demo

66 Stephen Dunford: The Journey of The IrIsh
Tradition further tells that following his sojourn on the mount, Patrick journeyed to the north-west of the region, where, adjacent to the ancient regal town of Killala, in the same county of Mayo, he strode fearlessly into an assembly, whom he then addressed, before converting to Christianity, the entire gathering, which included the seven martial sons of King Amalgaidh-Awley, along with twelve thousand of their followers. The ‘Sacred Tradi- tion’ of Connacht maintains that Patrick was also responsible for several miracles and an association with much ethereal phenomena, most especially in and around the region of the aforementioned Killala, hence the multitude of extant Sacred/Holy sites bearing his name which dot the north Mayo landscape and the volume of story and folklore associated with his wanderings and ‘doings’ which has been collected in this region.
After seven years in Connacht, Patrick next made his way back to Leinster, probably to present-day Naas, in county Kildare, where he spent the next few years, before travelling to Rome to report on the progress of his work in Ireland-this was about 441 A.D. Returning to Ireland, he preached extensively in Ulster, again in Leinster and then journeyed to Munster, where at “Cashel of the Kings”, ‘The Rock of Cashel’, in Tipperary, he baptized the Mun- ster King Oengus and his sons.